How do you teach your dog to stay on the treadmill on his own? I have been working with Rocky a little every day and he will stay on for about a minute but I have to bribe him with a steady stream of treats. Then he either walks off the front or stops and goes out the back. I want him to do it on his own so I can stop treating him so much- it kind of defeats the purpose .

Is there a trick to this? I thought of tying his leash to the treadmill, but Iâ€™m petrified that he will choke (so far we have been working without a collar or leash). Any ideas?

Yup, and you can also try and put food or a treat down in front to keep him motivated, and just hold him so he cant get it, praise and treat with a DIFFERENT treat, then stop when YOU want him to stop, dont ever let your dog stop on his own. You dont want him to get into a habit of it, if your dog is getting tired or is slowing down, get him off it and treat then, if he stops, get his ass back on it for a few seconds then give a release. My release for everything is "alright" so he knows when i say that its over and he gets his food. Let me know how it goes.

Well that went easier than I thought! The next time I put him on the treadmill I used his harness. I made him sit, gave him a treat, and he jumped right on by himself! He stayed on for almost 5 minutes with me treating much less frequently than before...it was like he finally goth the hang of it. When I took him offhe ran right back around and jumped back on ! I kept him on for a few more minutes and praised him like heck.

The next day I went downstairs, turned the treadmill on, and went to get his harness... the little bugger came running down the stairs and jumped on all by himself, no harness or anything! I guess he likes it !

You can build up to around 15-20 minute spurts, i dont like to go longer then that, if he still has energy then i might do another set later in the day. You can pretty much do anything with yoru dog since he is 2 years old, his structure is pretty much set so your not going to damage him.

On December 17 2006, 10:24, Wanderer wrote:Well that went easier than I thought! The next time I put him on the treadmill I used his harness. I made him sit, gave him a treat, and he jumped right on by himself! He stayed on for almost 5 minutes with me treating much less frequently than before...it was like he finally goth the hang of it. When I took him offhe ran right back around and jumped back on ! I kept him on for a few more minutes and praised him like heck.

The next day I went downstairs, turned the treadmill on, and went to get his harness... the little bugger came running down the stairs and jumped on all by himself, no harness or anything! I guess he likes it !

So, now how long should I keep him on? He is @ 2 years old.

Good to hear! He just needed a chance to get used to it. Most animals like exercise, so make sure you don't let him talk you into letting him over do it!!

With my dogs, I use distance instead of time. We go for 3 mile walks regularly, so I'll put them on the treadmill for at least a mile at a light jog.

Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.